Normed Köthe spaces: a non-commutative viewpoint (Q2252913)

The authors survey some aspects of the theory of non-commutative Banach function spaces, that is, spaces of measurable operators associated with a semi-finite von Neumann algebra. These spaces are also known as non-commutative symmetric spaces. The theory of such spaces emerged as a common generalization of the theory of classical rearrangement invariant Banach function spaces in the sense of W. A. J. Luxemburg and A. C. Zaanen and of the theory of symmetrically normed ideals of bounded linear operators in Hilbert spaces in the sense of I. C. Gohberg and M. G. Krein. These two cases may be considered as the two extremes of the theory: in the first case, the underlying von Neumann algebra is the commutative algebra \(L^{\infty}\) on some measure space; in the second case, the underlying von Neumann algebra is the algebra of all bounded linear operators on a Hilbert space. Important special cases of these non-commutative spaces are the non-commutative \(L^p\)-spaces, initiated by \textit{J. Dixmier} [Ann. Math. (2) 51, 387--408 (1950; Zbl 0036.35801)] and \textit{I. E. Segal} [Ann. Math. (2) 57, 401--457 (1953; Zbl 0051.34201)], and in the setting of symmetrically normed operator ideals they correspond to the Schatten \(p\)-classes \(\mathcal{C}_p\). In the first part of this survey, the authors study certain normed linear spaces, the elements of which are measurable functions. Such spaces are sometimes called normed Köthe spaces or also Banach function spaces if they are norm complete. In the second part, the authors review some of the basic features of non-commutative Banach function spaces.